freinds, as a citizen of chidambaram one thing that strikes me for the past 20 years is this nandan issue. the town still lives in this memory whether one likes it....reject it or deny it.
while it is obvious that the town had its apartheid system well for 1000 years is obvious to anyones eyes. there are still areas in the town which prohibits others.
the homakulam area is most important for not only historians but anyone interested in hindutva. the homakulam was exactly where nandan entered the pyre. gandhiji laid the foundation of his temple here and said
"i always feel iam the last person in india to practice satyagraha as a mode of fight against injustice. before me countless hindoos have done this. nandan is one among them. iam proud to lay foundation to his memorial."
the town has layers of history, the earliest primitive hunter gatherers of the mangaroves, fishermen, agricultural mannual laborers, land lords, warrior clans, king's clan, buisiness class, technocrat clans, saivites,vaisnavites, vedic age priest clans, agama age priest clans, medieval age priest clans,arab settlers,turkish descendants ....etc.
now the university has about 300 african students(most of them from central african countries like rwanda,uganda...etc). what is so interesting is the perfect harmony a black african student finds himself in the chidambaram scape. there is hardly any friction. the villagers and the africans are just living side by side. there is no racial animosity.
the blacks, nandan, the continuing issue of human equality... all this have an answer here in chidambaram. perhaps no other place where diverse people who have settled down here in various periods in its history having a peacefull coexistance.
this is what i feel the tamil resilience tamils take things and assimilate them very very slowly into them. they have not lost their insularity in their 3000 years of solitude here in chidambaram.
the nandan issue will again and again emerge and would be a symbolic issue for the underprivileged. nobody shall gag this voice. this voice is a hindu voice and this issue will ever be a hindu issue. chidambaram will continue to be the hindu voice for the underprivelged all over india as the nataraja himself is an underpriveleged.
the voice of one who lives in chidambaram not the armchair protestor who doesnt know what the issue is.
i did some research of this legend for a novel but this mahatma gandhi issue is new for me. thanks Gandhiram. thats why one should be in this group. you learn something every day.
thanks again
venketesh
. gandhiji laid the foundation of his temple here and said > > "i always feel iam the last person in india to practice satyagraha as a mode of fight against injustice. before me countless hindoos have done this. nandan is one among them. iam proud to lay foundation to his memorial." >
> while it is obvious that the town had its apartheid system well for 1000 years is obvious to anyones eyes. there are still areas in the town which prohibits others. > > the homakulam area is most important for not only historians but anyone interested in hindutva. the homakulam was exactly where nandan entered the pyre.
Dear Gandhi
where is this place in chidambaram. i regret that after having spent my university years there i have never visited it. pity i wasnt into either religion or history at that time.
The external appearance is nothing. Any one can have a kudumi, poonal etc. But the devotion is more important.
When god asked nandanar to enter into fire, he obeyed. absolute devotion. When he came out he was in a Tavakkolam., showing that the kolam cane be attained just like that.
Then he merged with God, which is very difficult for the ordinary people who just have a kudumi and poonal.
Appar ( gangai adil en, Cauvery adil en)
So, moral of the story is the longing for God is more important than the outer dress.
Secondly, in the article it is stated that Sundarar has sung one line about nandanar. In the Thiruthondar thogai thillai val andanar also have only one line . This is what exactly we call mis information.
If Sundarar used the word " nandan" it will be called defaming. If he calls him respetfully as Thirunalaipovar it becomes not mentioning the name. Strange are the ways of secularists.
- > Dear Gandhi > > where is this place in chidambaram. i regret that after having spent my university years there i have never visited it. pity i wasnt into either religion or history at that time. > > please tell us more > > venketesh >
it is in the kattumannar kovil road . just 2 km from the temple in the southwest direction. the nandanar memorial was initiated by gandhiji and now maintained by swami sagajananda trust. this sagajananda was a congress legislator in the pre independence period-close associate of rajaji. he took to vaisnavism to stay from saivite oppression in chidambaram. in chidambaram vaisnavites also feel very much underpriveleged and recently have joined the agitation against dheekshidhars.
nandanar story and the southern gate are not linked. it appears the southern inner entrance was constructed in 13th century only. and it was sealed probably in 1750 when french occupied it .
the southern entrance is a symbolic issue and would continue to be a symbolic issue for centuries. that is why i feel the issue is important than the gate as such.
Realised. if somebody wants to propagate that Sundarar has sung just one line about nandanar and if anyone try to telli him about the sundara's attitude towards caste, then that person will end up writing Sundararin Leelaigal only.
No point . i understand you Unpublishable Concerns.
80-20 rule applies to most situations. In our group, the active members may not be more than 100, and perhaps only 20 are super-active. When a topic becomes a one to one duel, it is better to stay in the sidelines and watch the fun. It will eventually end. I hope it ends like the duel between Arulmozhi and Vandiyadevan when they first meet. I think, it was in Kalki's Alaiosai, two hyper active readers of The Hindu keep up the 'reader's mail' account using colourful language for the topic under discussion and against each other. Finally, the editor has to intervene and close the duel-mail flood. Sampath
i hope atleast you understood what you wrote. venketesh
> Realised. if somebody wants to propagate that Sundarar has sung just one line about nandanar and if anyone try to telli him about the sundara's attitude towards caste, then that person will end up writing Sundararin Leelaigal only. > > No point . i understand you Unpublishable Concerns. > > regards > > >
Thanks Venkat. By starting to research on me , you merged with me. Now you consider you as me. That is the thing all advaidis try to achieve. Congrats.